Known as Black Marine, Marina Vesic has carved a unique path as an avant-garde composer, performer and researcher. From her early years performing professionally on piano at age six to winning the International Competition of Young Composers in Belgrade in 1997, Vesic’s journey in music has been defined by a commitment to innovation.
In an interview with The NYC Daily Post, I asked her to delve into her earliest musical influences.
“When I heard Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 for the first time as a child, I fell in love with music and the sound of orchestra. I was very young when my parents played different music to me and introduced me to piano. I wrote my first avant-garde composition at the age of six, on the piano, but much earlier on toy piano,” Vesic recalled.
With classical training in composition and orchestration from The Music Academy, University of Belgrade, she has furthered her studies in electro-acoustic composition at Vienna’s ELAK Institute and electronic music at STEIM Institute in Amsterdam, where she developed her own instrument, the crackle box.
“While living in Belgrade as a student, as I played in a hard core band at the time, it expanded my compositional freedom and my personal musical expression. Living in Vienna in the last thirteen years helped me develop my skills and moving forward my musical career goals in Europe as well as in America,” Vesic explained.
Inspirations and influences: From minimalism to new wave
Vesic’s music is influenced by minimalist pioneers like Philip Glass and Steve Reich, alongside genre-defying artists like David Bowie and Lydia Lunch. Her compositions blend classical, experimental and popular music into a boundary-crossing style that reflects her artistic freedom.
Her research focuses on female artists who bridge experimental and popular music. She presented her research at EVA London 2020 and later published in “EVA London 2020: Electronic Visualisation and the Arts.” Her contributions to the Chicago magazine People Say further highlight underrepresented voices in New York’s music scene, aligning with her mission to build a platform for boundary-crossing female artists.
Collaborations with avant-garde and mainstream artists
Since 2019, Vesic has collaborated with New York City’s Composers Concordance ensemble, where her recent composition, “Halloween Night,” premiered Oct. 25. with several additional world premieres scheduled for the 2024-2025 concert season. In October, she also released “Halloween Song,” featuring a video with Jeff Tucker from Moultrie, Ga. On Nov. 12, Vesic will release a new song, including a music video, featuring Tucker again.
Vesic’s collaborations span a wide range of genres, including work with Florida’s metal band Storm Kingdom and performances with Steve Hovington of the B-Movie band. Known for her versatility, she has worked across styles, from classical piano to metal, and performed with mainstream new wave icon Lene Lovich at the “More Ohr Less” festival in Austria in 2023.
Building a solo career as Black Marine
As Black Marine, Vesic is also an active keyboardist and touring musician, while steadily building her solo career across Europe and the U.S. Her compositions, often licensed in films like in “Robocracy” and “Red”, are supported by platforms like Front Row Radio.
In the U.S., Marina Vesic’s music is available on Spotify, YouTube, IMDb and her website. Her music reflects her dedication to pushing artistic boundaries and bridging experimental and popular music forms.
Edited by: Steven London & James Sutton
